Steven Universe: Determined Goatman
by Robbie Patrick
Summary: My longest Story yet and my first SU Fanfic. Please note this has been in development since mid-last year (2018) so the characters and settings will not be the same as what ever they currently are by the time you read this. Either way, I've put a lot of time and effort into this so I hope you enjoy. If demand is popular enough I may make a sequel at a later point but no guaranties.


Steven Universe: Determined Goat Man By Robbie Patrick

Not far outside Beach city, a mysterious Goat like Man walks down the road, wearing casual human clothing; all-while carrying a large rucksack with him. The Young Goat-man continues his walk down the path until here stops just near the top of a small hill. The Goat-man takes out a map from his pocket to compare it with the surrounding landscape and near-by settlement.

"Yep, This looks like Beach City to me." He says to himself. "Seems kinda small for a city. I guess the founders thought it sounded better? who knows?" The goat man folds up the map to put back in his pocket before pulling out a set of Binoculars from his rucksack to get a closer look. "Weird, I don't see any monsters from here. Maybe they haven't spread this far out yet? either way, I better be careful; I have a feeling I might not be welcomed here." The Goat man puts the binoculars back the rucksack only to pull out a short grey cloak. The Goat-man puts on the cloak and lifts the hood over his horns and long ears to cover them as best he can. The goat man puts his rucksack back on and starts walking down the hill towards beach city. "This cloak should hide most of my head and face, but other than that i'll stick out like... well... like a guy with white fur, a snout, paws and only four fingers on each hand. Still better than nothing I guess; I better make my visit through here quick. Best case scenario: People give me weird looks. Worst case scenario: My cover gets blown and the locals try to kill me. Well... here goes nothing." With that, the Goat-Man makes his way towards Beach city; Unaware that he has already been sported by Peridot, using a telescope to watch the main road from the barn she shares with Lapis. Peridot, with nothing to say and a shock express on her face dashes over to the phone to call the crystal gems and let them know what's coming.

Pearl calmly stands by the lighthouse near the top the cliff, staring out at the ocean. But the calmness of the wind gently brushing pass her is broken by the sound of her phone ringing. Pearl takes her phone out from her gem to see who could be calling her. "Peridot?! That's strange. She never calls me for anything. It must be important, or maybe she can't get a hold of Garnet. I should find out." Pearl answers the phone, only to get greeted by Peridot frantically screaming at her.

"Peridot, Slow down! I can barely understand you! Now start from the beginning, Tell me what it is you think you saw."

Peridot composes herself enough to speak to pearl while still shouting in a frantic state. "What I *KNOW* I saw was a Humanoid-Goat-THING, walking towards your location! GAH! Why is it everytime I think I have Life on Earth figured out, Something comes along and contradicts, if not changes everything else?!"

"Do you think it's somekind of Homeworld Gem?"

"Possibly. But it was wearing Human Clothing and didn't look like any Homeworld Gem I've ever seen. So it's either a Homeworld scout who can shape shift but doesn't know anything about earth, a corrupted Gem that somehow became sentient, or Some-other form of extraterrestrial life. As if there wasn't enough on that on this planet already."

"Wait a minute! Peridot, if you saw this thing walking down from where you and Lapis are, why didn't either of you stop it?"

"...Beeecause I didn't think of that until now...?" Pearl face-palms and gives a loud annoyed sigh at Peridot's stupidity, but reluctantly vows to handle the potential threat. "Ughhh... Alright! I'll take care of this myself. But, Peridot, next time you see something like this, let me know *only* if don't think you or lapis can handle it."

"Understood. Shall I call Garnet and Amethyst to let them know as well?"

"No. They promised to take Steven and Connie to see that new Dog-Copter Movie. Besides, Steven's been looking forward to that film all month. The last thing I want to do is ruin this day for him. I'll deal with this 'Goat-person' myself. Based on how you described them, they shouldn't be a challenge for me." hearing this, Peridot scoffs at Pearls apparent overconfidence. "Tck. Famous last words of a clod."

"Did you say something, Peridot?"

"UH! I said... um... g-good luck! Peridot out." Peridot abruptly hangs up leaving pearl alone once again. Pearl puts her phone back into her gem before looking down at the nearby town. "Well... I suppose it's up to me. I don't why this Goat-person is here but I better start looking for them. I Doubt a Humanoid Goat should be too hard to find." Pearl assures herself before quickly rushing down the hill as fast as she can.

Meanwhile, Down by the main boardwalk, the Goat-man casually walks through the semi-crowded streets, trying his best to stay as hidden as possible. Despite the occasional odd look, no-one really seems to give him any real attention. "Keep it together, big guy. You're just a normal person, passing through, looking around, not doing anything special." The Goat-man Walks passes Numerous Stores and businesses eventually reaching 'The Big Donut'. The Goat-man looks at the store for a few moments, trying to decide whether to go in or not. "Hmm. I guess I could go for a coffee? But if I get too close and someone sees what I really am?! Maybe if I'm careful enough... Aw Forget it. it's worth the risk."

Finally, the goat-man heads inside. Wasting no time, the Goat-Man walks up to the counter and is greeted by Sadie: the Young Woman running the Store."Hey there! Can I get you anything?" The Goat-man turns his head to the side and hides the side of his snout with his hand before speaking to Sadie.

"Uh yeah. Can I get a shot of espresso to go, please?"

"Sure thing, Pal. Just give me a sec." Sadie turns to make the Goat-man's drink, while the Goat-man looks around The store. Doing his best to avoid any kind of eye contact with Sadie; Fearing her shorter stature may allow her to get a clearer look at his face. Sadie hands the goat-man his drink, which he promptly grabs before placing a $5 bill on the counter. "Hereyougokeepthechangeidon'tneeditthanksbye!" The Goat-man quickly starts to makes his out of the store before suddenly being stopped by Sadie. "Hey! Wait a minute!" The Goat-Man Stops dead his his tracks. Sweat pouring down his brow. Too scared to turn around and probably face the Young Woman. "Sorry to bother you but... If you don't mind me asking... what's with your hands and feet? why are they so... hairy?" The Goat-man quickly tries to think of a reasonable answer.

"Oh! T-they're um... they're just Boots and Gloves I... *bout*... on the internet."

"Oh. Well they look pretty cool. Sorry to waste your time there. Have a good day, buddy."

"Y-yeah thanks. You too, Miss." With that, The Goat-man takes a sip of his coffee and walks outside. After making his way down the road a little, the Goat-man sighs and decides that enough is enough. "That's it! I need to get out of this place. I not risking any more close calls like that. Mmm... I can't take the bus, That'll just increase the number of people who might recognise me. I guess I could head back up the way came. If I hurry, no one else should see me." The Goat-man thinks of plan for a few moments, but unfortunately his train of thought is interrupted by the sound of a woman's voice shouting at him.

"You! Stop right where you are!" The volume of the voice is so loud it not only catches the Goat-man's attention but also attracts a small crowd of people. Both People walking down the street and standing by the near-by T-shirt shop. The Goat-man looks up at the hill to see pearl standing there, her attention and gaze firmly fixed on the Goat-man. Pearl yells down at the Goat-man who stares back at her, completely mesmerised by her beauty. "Whoa. W-who... who is she? She's beautiful! Did I die? because I swear, that's an angle if I ever saw one."

"Are you even listing to me?!" Pearl's question snaps the Goat-Man back to reality as he tries stay focused enough to speak. "What? Oh uh! S-sorry... I zoned out for a minute there. What were you saying?" Pearl sighs walks down the hill and over to the Goat-man.

"I *asked you* who you are and what you're doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm just a normal guy passing through the area. Why? Is that a problem?"

"It is when the 'guy' in question, clearly isn't Human." This comment causes the Goat-man to become increasingly worried. Especially when he overhears the local crowd begin to murmur about what exactly pearl means by 'isn't human'. The goat-man dose his best to stay calm, despite his Heart rate skyrocketing. "I-I... Uh... I-I-I swear I don't what you're uh... what you're talking about, ma'am."

"Really? Then why don't I remind you?!" Before the goat-man has a chance to protest, Pearl grabs his cloak and tears it off, revealing his true identity to the crowd. Both the crowd and the Goat-man are shocked. The Goat-man, incredibly embarrassed by both Pearl's sudden action and his true identity being revelied, drops his coffee to the ground and tries to cover his face while a number of people start taking pictures with their phones and debating on what the man is. Even Pearl is surprised by the Goat-man's appearance. "Unbelievable! Peridot was right! W-what... What is he?! I've never seen anything like him on this planet!"

The Goat-Man turns to pearl, a look of anger and embarrassment on his face. "What have you done!? Did you even consider for a minute *WHY* I was wearing that Cloak!?"

"I-I... I'm so sorry! I... I swear I didn't-" Just then, both Pearl and the Goat-man are interrupted by a third person. "AHA! I know it! I've been waiting for this moment." The two look towards the crowd to see Ronaldo: Beach city's resident conspiracy theorist, making his way through the crowd. Ronaldo rushes over to the Goat-man While recording himself with a video camera. "Greetings, loyal follows! Ronaldo of 'Keep beach city weird' here, where, moments ago, the crystal gem know as 'pearl', unmasked this half-Human, half-Goat Creature to everyone present." Ronaldo points the camera at the Goat-Man while asking a flurry of questions, without giving him any time to respond to any of them. "What's your origin? Did you escape from the circus? Are you a failed science experiment? A successful science experiment? Are you an extra dimensional alien being? If so, Could you tell us the name of your native Planet, slash, dimension? assuming it's name is pronounceable in our primitive earth tongue?"

The Goat-man, covers his face from the camera while trying to answer Ronoldo's overwhelming number of questions. "W-what? No, I'm not an alien! well, I guess that depends on your definition of alien, but I'm not from outer space! Could someone *please* get this guy away from me?!" Pearl grabs Ronoldo's camera, crushes it, picks Ronoldo up by the collar, before tossing him aside. Ronaldo quickly gets pearl's message and runs off. "Sorry about that. Ronoldo gets a little... exited, when strange things happen around here. He dose bring up a good point though. Where *are* you from? You're unlike anyone or anything I've seen before."

"Miss, could you please stop with the questions? I swear, I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"I can't take any risk. especially with someone like *you* wondering around. You're going to tell me everything or-"

"Or what? You'll attack me? An unarmed guy just passing through your home turf?!"

"I'll do what I must to protect this planet and it's people!"

Pearl and the Goat-man angrily lock eyes, both of them clench their fists, ready to fight at any moment. The crowd see the anger and frustration growing in each combatant's eyes, their patience wearing thin, ready to lunge at each-other at the drop of a hat.

"Listen, lady, you're a little rough around the edges, but I can see there's good in you; Which is exactly why I don't want to fight you. But if we're doing the whole Trail-by-combat-thing, then I won't hesitate to defend myself."

"Very well then. But first, maybe it's best if we move this fight somewhere else."

"Why? What's wrong with this place?"

"What do *you* think?"

The goat-man, confused by Pearl's sarcasm, looks around at the near-by people and buildings, quickly realising the obvious. "...Ooooh right. Collateral. Yeah, I forgot about that for a sec."

"Heh. Yeah, my friends and I do that all the time."

"So... you got somewhere better in mind? The Beach, maybe?"

"Better than that. Follow me." Pearl begins walking across the beach, with the Goat-man following not far behind. The two avoid eye contact as much as possible and each time they do, they immediately look somewhere. After a few silent minutes of walking, The pair finally arrive at the crystal temple. Pearl stops for a short moment while the Goat-man stairs at the structure in awe.

"Whoa! What is this place? My map never said there was anything like *this* around here ."

"That's because few people even know this place exist. so *obviously* you won't find it on any kind of map. This Temple has been here for thousands of years; so Consider your self lucky I'm even showing it to you in the first place. Don't make me regret doing so! Understood?"

"Y-yeah... of course. So... is this where we're gonna fight?"

"Not exactly. We're almost there, let's keep going." Pearl escorts the Goat-man up to the house built into the centre of the temple. While pearl unlocks the front door, the Goat-man looks to his side and sees Lion, fast asleep on the porch near by. Lion opens one of his eyes and looks over the Goat-man for a moment.

"Uh... is that a lion... with pink fur?"

"Yes. But don't worry, he spends most of his time napping; So he won't bother you so long as you don't bother him. Now let's head inside." The two enter the house while Lion goes right back to sleep as soon as the front door is closed. The two waste no time walking through the Main room and over to the warp pad.

"Hey, What's through that door over there?" The Goat-man asks, pointing at the large door with the star on it at the back of the room. "That's the entrance to the temple itself. it's also none of your concern. Now, stand on that pad over there." The Goat-man steps onto the Warp pad, followed by pearl a moment later. Pearl stands up straight with her arms folded behind her back, while the Goat-man looks down at the Pad their standing on as it begins to light up. "so... what *is* this thing anyway? Some kind of-" Before the Goat-man can finish his sentence, he and pearl are both enveloped in a bright beam of light and Teleported away to another location. Leaving the temple empty and quiet once again.

"-Elevator or- What the...?!" In an instant, Pearl and the Goat-man arrive at a new location. Pearl casual steps off the warp pad, while the Goat-man looks around a his new surroundings, extremely confused by what just happened. "Wha- I...? Where are we? How did we get here? Was that a Teleporter? You have a Teleporter?!"

"You're very inquisitive, you know that?"

"Hey! When I woke up this morning to go to a place called 'Beach city', I didn't expect this! Could you at least tell *where* we are exactly?"

"Ugh... fine. It's call 'the sky arena.' In it's heyday, it was used for Gladiatorial combat and sometimes Tribunals."

"Huh. Then I guess it's kinda fitting, since we're using it for both right now." pearl just rolls her eyes before escorting the Goat-man up the stairs and into the arena itself. The Goat-man is immediately taken back by the arena's beauty and view, but pearl keeps walking down the steps without saying a word. Pearl and the Goat-man walk down the steps and into the centre of the arena. The Goat-man walks to one side of the arena before taking off his Rucksack and tossing it to the side, while pearl takes her place on the other side, in between two large pillars. Pearl and the Goat-man lock eyes, both stare at each other with serious looks across their faces.

"Well... I guess this is it. I'm ready to go where you are."

"Listen. We don't have to fight, you know." Pearl reasons with the Goat-man. "If you promise to leave right now and never come back, I'll let you go.

"I can't do that, lady. I learned everything about you just by looking in your eyes. Even if I leave, you'll either follow me or send someone after me. You know why? Because you're xenophobic and there's nothing I can say to convince you that I'm not a threat to you or other people; That's why you brought me here, to settle things the old fashion way. 'Actions speak louder than words' right? well, If this is the only way to set the record straight, then so be it. The first thing you can add to my 'record' is that I'm not afraid to hit a girl."

"Hmph. in that case, I suppose the second thing I can add is the fact You very sound eager for someone who doesn't want to fight me."

"What can I say? Just because I don't *want* to fight, doesn't mean I *won't*. Besides, once I set my mind to something, I'm *determined* to get it done."

With that, the two worriers charge at each other ready to fight. The two each deliver punches and kicks, but their skills, speed and agility make it impossible for either of them to land a single hit. In the mist of the battle, each of them begin to wonder to themselves about the other's origins.

"Whoever or whatever this 'Goat-person' is, he's strong. It feels like he's holding back, yet his speed and techniques are on par with my own. Maybe I should have asked Garnet and Amethysts for help. No! I can do this myself. I have to! If this 'Goat-man' *is* some kind of threat, I need them to be the last line of defence to keep Steven safe."

"There's so many questions I have about this woman; Who is she? where did she come from? And what's that stone on her forehead? Whoever she is, She's pretty tough. It's been awhile since I did any actually training, and even longer since I was in a real fight. I'll have to give it whatever I've got to win this. I just hope she's as merciful as me, or this could get messy."

After a few minutes, the Goat-man forces pearl against one of the large pillars. The Goat-man throws a devastating right punch and although pearl dodges it, it still destroys the large statue leaning against the pillar. Pearl rushes over to where where the Goat-man was standing a few minutes ago and is surprised by the Goat-man's strength. Despite this, pearl keeps her cool and even shares a slight chuckle with the Goat-man. The two smirk at each other, impressed by each other's power.

"I have to admit, Goat-man, You're a lot stronger than I thought you would be. When did you graduate from basic training?"

"About the same time you mastered you're first squat."

"Funny. But don't think you have the upper hand just yet. You may be skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but I have literally *thousands* of years of experience! There is nothing you have that I haven't seen before."

"You can't be serious! You're thousands of years old?! Pfft. Yeah, and I'm a talking Flower!" Pearl groans in frustration at the Goat-man's sarcasm before holding her hands to her gem. Pearl summons a pair of swords, keeping one to herself and tossing the other to the Goat-man. The Goat-man catches and looks over the sword, while Pearl summons a small group of Holo-Pearls to assist her, all of them holding a similar sword as the real Pearl.

"Time to see how you handle yourself with a blade. Don't worry, these Holograms are version 2.000001. So they won't try to kill you if given the that doesn't mean defeating them will be easy." The Holo-Pearls lock onto the Goat-man and enter a similar fighting stance as Pearl. "Challenger recognised. Prepare for combat. You've already made a mistake by challenging us!" One of the Holo-Pearls declares. The Goat-man however, ignores the Holo-pearl. Instead, he just tosses his sword to the ground, much to pearl's surprise. "Thanks for the sword. But, I won't need it. I brought some of my own." The Goat-man holds his arms out to his sides and summons a pair of large swords in his hands. The swords each have a much larger and wider single edged blade with a golden claymore like crossguard, as apposed to the shorter cutlass swords used by pearl and her holograms. Pearl, shocked by the Goat-man's ability to summon his weapons out of thin air, drops out of her fighting stance and stares at him, completely dumbfounded.

"How... HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! Those swords just... *appeared* out of nowhere! How did you summon them without a Gem? Are they somekind of Hard-light construct? Answer me!" The Goat-man just responds to Pearl's questions with a cheeky smirk and a snarky joke. "What's the matter? I thought you said 'I had nothing You hadn't seen before'?"

"Hurrgh...! YOU...! Do you think you're being CUTE?!"

"Cute? No. Adorable? Yes." The Goat-man's taunting infuriates Pearl as she orders the Holo-Pearls to attack. The Holo-Pearls charge at the Goat-man, but in the blink of an eye, he simply destroys all but one of them with just a few quick slashes, with the last Holo-pearl standing frozen in place for a few moments.

"Impressed? It took me a little while before I figured out how to pull that trick off. Honestly, it's alot harder than it looks. Hardest part was that last one though." As the goat-man says this, the last Holo-pearl runs at him, only to suddenly slit in half down the middle and disappear in a puff of smoke much like the others. "I ended up going through a number of training dummies before I finally nailed it. By the way, those Holograms weren't expensive to make, were they? Cause if so, you can send the bill to my-"

"ENOUGH!" The Goat-man is suddenly silence by Pearl. Her patience at a critical low because of the Goat-man's cockiness "You may have an powerful form, and well honed technique; But I've been sharpening my skills almost non-stop for centuries! And I refused to be beaten and humiliated by some overgrown *FARM ANIMAL*!"

"Name calling? Ouch. That's the closest you come to *actually* hurting me so far."

"You know, if fought as much as you joked, you might have won by now!"

"Yeah, I learned from the best when it comes to trolling people. But if you really want me to get serious, then that's fine by me."

"I knew it! You *are* holding back, aren't you? No more pulling punches, give me everything you've got before I decide to call in my friends; and trust me, we've taken down foes *a hundred times* your size."

The Goat-man, not believing pearl's boast, scoffs before cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"Tck. Bethat at as it may, I'm surprised you having so much troble with a guy who hasn't train in a long time. But if everything you've said so far *is* true, and that stone on your fore head is the source of your power like I think it is, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to cut loose a little bit. But spoiler warning - my determination can make it hard for me to listen to reason. So don't say I didn't warn you."

Pearl summons a second sword from her gem before dashing straight at the Goat-man. For the next few minutes, the two combatants give in to their anger and clash swords with unrelenting ferocity. Each strike echos loudly through out the arena like thunder in a heavy rainstorm. Both angrily grunting each time they swing their sword. Sparks fly across the arena like the flickering embers of a fire, and with ever passing minute, both use any and all of their tactics to give themselves even the smallest advantage, with neither showing any sign of slowing down or giving up. Despite pearl's greater experience and agility, the Goat-man's overwhelming strength and near-impossible to predict fighting style keep her on her toes and thus begin to push her to her limits.

"This... This is impossible...!" Pearl thinks to herself. "It took me centuries to perfect my swordsmanship, and yet he moves like he mastered it in no time at all! He's even using techniques I haven't even taught Connie yet! and now here I am using them myself just to keep up. The irony there is ridiculous." Pearl continues to clash swords with the Goat-man, his aggressive and unpredictable strategy giving her little to no time to even catch her breath, causing fatigue to begin taking it's course. "He may act like he's not tired, but he's using just as much energy as me in his attacks. I can't keep this up all day; I can feel my strength draining with every moment. There has to be a way to put an end to this! But how?! We're too evenly matched! I can dodge anything he tries, but he can block anything *I* try. Wait. That's it! his swords are his key advantage. If I can knock them out of his hands, he'll be vulnerable. All I need is something to distract him with."

Pearl's train of though is interrupted when you she sees one of the Goat-man's blades heading straight for her gem. Although she is able to blocked it at the the last moment, the strength behind the attack is so strong that it shatters her swords to pieces. Pearl staggers backwards in surprise, her once mighty swords now reduced to the size of simple daggers.

"It's over! Your swords are useless now, lady, just give up while you can. There's no way you can win without them." Pearl backs up further and further, eventually bumping into the large pillar the goat-man punched earlier in the fight. The Goat-man slowly approaches pearl, his weapons lowered to show he no longer wishes to fight. Pearl, on the other, grits her teeth like a wild animal backed into a corner.

"I don't need my swords intact to win this fight. I... am a CRYSTAL GEM! And if you think I can't win, I'll always find a way!" Without warning, Pearl kicks a small piece of the broken statue from earlier at the Goat-man. Although the Goat-man easily dodges the piece of stone, the momentary distraction is exactly the opening pearl needs. In the brief moment the Goat-man turns his head, Pearl charges forward and kicks both of the Goat-man's swords out of his hands before knocking him to the floor with a swift punch across the jaw. Pearl then stomps her foot on the Goat-mans chest, knocking the wind out of him. Pearl keeps her foot pressed down on the Goat-mans chest and points her broken sword at him to preventing him from even trying to get back up.

"Ow, my snout... It's been awhile since I took a hit that hard. Why do I feel like I had that coming? Heh heh... You're pretty strong, Lady. You remind me alot of the woman who trained me. Although, you're definitely not as crazy as her. If I knew I'd be fighting someone as skilled as you, I'd have gotten back into training by now."

"Hmph. You really are quite the comedian, aren't you? Don't you get it? My Allies and I have strength no amount of training could have prepared you for. We've been in more battles in a week then you've fought in your whole life!"

"OK, to be fair, you aren't entirely wrong. It's been a long time since I *actually* fought someone for real. All the other times were just training games. Well... unless you count sparring sessions, but usually those ended with me getting my head handed to me, someone blowing the whistle before things got out of hand or a stand still. By the way, who are those 'allies' you keep mentioning? 'Cause if they're as strong as you, then I've *really* got to get back into shape." Pearl, growing more and more annoyed with the Goat-man's questions, presses her foot down on the Goatman's chest even harder.

"Aaah, STOP! I can't *breath*! What the heck is with you?! Can't you take a joke?!"

"Enough of your questions! Now you're going to start explaining certain things, or I'm going to drag you before Garnet by those horns of your's! Maybe she'll finally get some answers out of-" Pearl suddenly stops herself when she gets a second look at the Goat-man's face and notices something dripping down the side of his lip. "Blood? You're Bleeding? But that means... You're not...! You're organic?!" Pear, shocked by this new development, drops her swords to the floor and staggers backwards towards the broken pillar. The Goat-man leans up and looks on at the extremely stunned pearl, almost as confused as her.

"Well of course I'm organic. Aren't you? Wait... now I'm just as lost as you. What do you mean by 'organic'? I know you don't like me asking so many questions, but at this point I think we're both just as in the dark as each other."

Pearl just Stares at the Goat-man. her mind lost in a sea of questions and theories about the Goat-man. The goat-man gets to his feet and quickly notices the cracks on the broken pillar getting bigger and bigger while small pieces slowly start to chip off, all while the bewildered Pearl unknowingly draws closer to it.

"Hey, What's-your-name, watch out! That pillar I hit earlier looks like it's gonna fall over at any moment. Maybe you should... you know... move out of the way?" But pearl dismisses the Goat-man's warning and continues to back up as she now begins to fear the Goat-man

"Stay away from me! I don't know what you are or where you came from, but you must be pretty naive if you think I'm falling for a trick as old as-" Pearl's back finally bumps into the damaged pillar. A simple error that causes the damage area of the pillar break apart. Pearl looks up just in time to see the large pillar towering over her begin tilting in her direction. Frozen in place with fear, all pearl can do is close her eyes and weakly shield herself from the falling pillar with her arms. But instead of the feeling of being crushed, Pearl feels a pair of hands grab hers shoulders and throw her to the ground, just as the pillar comes crashing to the ground.

Pearl slowly opens her eyes to see the Goat-man standing over her and the pillar in pieces all over the ground. "Phew! That was a close one!" Says the Goat-man. "If I hadn't tackled you to the ground at the last second, you'd have been smushed! Are you alright? here, let me help you up." The goat-man offers a helping hand up but pearl just looks at him,unable to understand why the person she just fought with and even injured, would now save her life.

"I-I... I don't... You saved me...? But I... you... Ehh..." The Intense stress, anxiety and exhaustion from the recent battle are all too much for pearl to bear, causing her to slip into unconscious. Her eyes close and her body goes limp leaving the goat-man alone gasping in dismay.

"Miss? are you okay? What wrong with you? Miss?! Miss!" The Goat-man immediately worries for pearl and quickly rushes to her side. The Goat-man grabs pearl's shoulders and gently shakes them in order to try and get a response from her. "Come on! Don't do this to me! Stay something! Anything!" Pearl makes a gentle groan and twitches her fingers. but beyond that, shows no other sighs of consciousness. The Goat-man checks for Pearl's pulse but his failure to find one baffles him. "I can't find a heart beat! But then how did she just move there? I don't understand! Well, at least I know she's alive, so I guess that's all that matters. She must have fainted from all the stress. But what do I do if her friends show up *now*? There's no way I can explain *this*! If she's this strong on her own, then that 'Garnet' she mentioned must be unstoppable! Way to go, Asriel! You really did it this, huh?"

Asriel picks up pearl in his arms. Seeing pearl's face, Asriel can't help but feel sorrow and regret for his actions. "Poor lady. I didn't mean to stress her out like that. I promise, I'll make it up to her somehow. Right now, all I can do is take her home." As Asriel carries Pearl's unconscious body up the stairs towards the warp pad, he suddenly realises a flaw in his plan."Wait. How DO I take her home? I forgot, I don't know how to work that teleporter we used earlier! There weren't even any controls for it, we just stood on it and it took us here. And now the only person who knows how to work it is unconscious! This just isn't my day, is it?"

Some time passes and pearl finally begins to open her eyes. "Unngh. What... what happened? Where am I?" Pearl immediately feels her head resting against something on the ground. she leans up and sees it's a folded up hoodie acting as cushion for her head. "What's this doing her? Who's...? Wait! I recognises this. Dose that mean...?" Pearl looks around at her surroundings and sees she's still in the sky arena. "So it wasn't some kind of dream. I really did fight that Goat-man. Maybe that's what happened; He must have defeated me and destroyed my physical form." Pearl looks down at her body and is surprised to see her form hasn't changed even the slightest bit. "That's odd. Why are my clothes the same? They should have changed the moment I reformed, and yet they look the same as they normally do. Maybe I didn't get Poofed; I must have gotten knocked unconscious during the battle. At least he was kind enough to rest my head on his hoodie. I wonder if..." Pearl looks towards at the centre of the arena and sees Asriel siting there without his hoodie, rummaging through his rucksack. "There he is, He's still here! He must be plotting something if he stayed behind to keep an eye on me. I swear if he even thinks of laying a finger on Steven, I'll...!"

Asriel turns around and sees pearl looking directly at him. pearl starts to panic; Thinking Asriel will attack her, but instead he greets her with a smile much a doctor would greet a patient. "Oh good, You're finally awake!" Asriel says with glee much to pearl's surprise. Asriel walks her to pearl to check her condition. "You had me worried for a while there. how are you feeling, Pearl?" Asriel's use of Pearl surprises her even further.

"Excuse me? How did you learn my name?"

"While you were out, that stone on your fore head started projecting stuff like a home movie. I figured they were personal to you, so I didn't pay much attention to them. I did hear some tall lady with long curly hair call you 'her Pearl' at one point. Is that your name?" Pearl is slightly embarrassed her gem projected her dreams while she was unconscious but seeing that Asriel means her no harm and respected her privacy nod positively.

"Y-yes. That's me. I'm Pearl."

"Well, since I know your name, I guess it's only fair I tell you mine. It's Asriel. Asriel Dreemur. Here, let me give you a hand up." Asriel helps Pearl to her feet. Even letting her grab his arm while she gains her balance back. "Take it easy. You've been out for a little while. I'm no doctor, so I wasn't sure what to do when you passed out. I figure the best I could do was make you comfortable and keep watch 'till you woke up. As for our... scuffle, You don't seem to have any serious injuries that I could see, other than a few scratches. How are you feeling?"

"To be honest, extremely puzzled. Why are you showing so much concern for me? Especially after what I did to you earlier earlier."

"What? Oh! you mean when you...?" Pearl turns away from Asriel, still ashamed after everything she did and how she wounded him. "Hey, don't worry about me. I've been hit harder you know. A punch across the jaw doesn't even phase me at this point. You don't need to be ashamed of what you did, Pearl. We fought. I lost. I'm over it. Let's just forget about it and start over; Okay?"

Pearl looks at Asriel, confusion in her eyes while he looks back at her with a forgiving smile. "His compassion reminds me so much of Steven." Pearl thinks to herself. Asriel walks over to his rucksack and sits down beside it. "Here, why don't we sit and talk?" Asriel suggests to pearl, patting the ground beside him. Pearl walks over to Asriel and sits down next to him. Asriel takes out a bottle of water and offers it to Pearl who declines the offer while still sheepishly avoiding eye contact. The two awkwardly sit in silence for a few moments. Both unsure what to do or say. Asriel takes a drink from the water before clearing his throat to speak to Pearl.

"Soooo... What's your story then? You lived here long?"

"Hmm. What's makes you think I have a story worth telling? let alone one you'd believe?"

"Everyone's got a story to tell. And I'm just as curious to know your's as I'm sure you are to learn mine. Beside, a woman as beautiful as you must have a few tales to tell." Pearl's entire face blushes bright blue at the complement and she locks eyes with Asriel. Asriel quickly realises what he said and tries to hide his face in embarrassment while taking another drink of water. "Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" Asriel curses to himself. "Why did I say that?! I bet I look like such an idiot now! Pull yourself together, Asriel! You're a Prince! She's just a normal, albeit distracting pretty Girl. Just act cool." Asriel finishes the water bottle and places it back in his rucksack before composing himself enough to speak again.

"S-sorry about that. I... I shouldn't have asked. I guess I forgot not everyone is as open minded as me. Maybe I should go" Before Asriel has a chance to stand up, his hand is grabbed by pearl's.

"No no. Please stay. It's fine, really. It's just... my story's far longer than you'd think. Like, *really* long. Like, longer than your's and all your friend's stories put together."

"So it's true what you said earlier? You're over a Thousand years old?"

"Well... technically I'm older much than you could imagine, but to give you an idea, I've been living at that temple you saw earlier for the last five thousand years, Give or take, obviously.

"Get out! That's crazy! Then again, I'll bet that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to you."

"Heh. I told you it was a long story. What about you? Don't you have an interesting history?" Pearl inquires.

"Well for starters, I'm actually a Prince. My Mom and Dad are the King and Queen of our race." This revelation shocks pearl and she begins to regret her actions even further, having fought and injured someone of authority. Asriel sees the worry on pearl's face grow, but quickly reassures her not to dwell on what she did.

"Hey, Relax! My title's more of a formality at this point then anything else. Besides, my Mom renounced her title as Queen a long time ago. And it's not like we live in some big castle or anything. Pearl, you really need to chill out. You didn't start a war with anyone, I know you had a good reason to fight me. You wanted to test if I could handle myself, It's why you brought us here, to this old arena."

Asriel holds pearl's hand in his own as the two stare deep into each other's eyes. "I've made some mistakes in my past too. And I know someone as old as you has as well. But I learned not to let them drag me down. I don't hold grudges, Pearl, Not towards you or anyone else; No matter what they did to me. Haha. It's weird, I barely know you, yet I care about you like I always have. I understand if you have a hard time forgiving yourself for hurting me or treating me like a potential enemy, But I forgive you. And... I think you're pretty great."

Pearl is left speechless by Asriel's words. She looks deeper into Asriel's eyes and is reminded more and more of Steven. "Are you crying, Pearl?" Asriel asks. Pearl wipes the tears from her eyes and politely smiles back at Asriel, while quietly chuckles to herself.

"Heh heh heh. You really are something special, Prince Asriel. And you're right, About everything. I wanted to see wither or not you were a threat. It looks like I got my answer. Not exactly the way expected of course, but still... you're truly amazing."

"Funny. I was about to say the same about you." Asriel jokes. Asriel and Pearl stand up. The two continuing to laugh with one-another.

"ha heh. I don't even know what Garnet and Amethyst are going to make of you, Asriel. Garnet and Amethyst!" Pearl suddenly stops laughing as panic quickly starts to set in.

"Oh no, What time is it?! How long was I out for?!"

"I-I don't know, I don't have a watch. You were unconscious for about an hour, I think?"

"An Hour?! Oh no! Oh no no nonono NO! This is very bad! I-I have to get back right away! Steven must be worried sick!" Pearl stands up and starts pacing back and forth in a very worried state before being stopped by Asriel, grabbing her arm.

"Pearl, cool your jets! What's gotten into you? why are you so worried all of a sudden?" Before Pearl has a chance to explain, she hears the near-by warp pad activate and a familiar voice call to her.

"Yo, P! You here? Peri said you went to fight some Goat-guy and we figured you'd be here." Amethyst and Garnet rush up the steps and stop upon seeing Pearl. The two gem's attention quickly changes to Asriel. Both get a look of surprise on their faces, similar to Pearl's upon seeing Asriel for the first time. Asriel only has time for a awkward smile and a wave before Garnet instinctively summons her gauntlets.

"Pearl! Get away from that thing!" Garnet shouts while rushing down the steps towards Asriel. Pearl tries to warn Garnet to stop but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Garnet charges towards Asriel like a rampaging Bull. Asriel sees Garnet heading right at him but instead of dodging he bravely stands his ground thinking he can simply block Garnet's punch. Asriel catches Garnet's fist with both of his hands but his overconfidence gets the better of him as the attack proves to be far more powerful than he had anticipated. The impact creates a shock wave that knocks Pearl and Amethyst off their footing and cracks the floor around Asriel and Garnet. Asriel's hands that the full impact of the attack but still holds his ground. Even Garnet is caught off guard by Asriel's strength, especially after blocking such a powerful attack. Asriel's face soon changes to one of discomfort as he reels his arms back and cries out in pain.

"AHHH! MY HANDS! I THINK MY HANDS JUST WENT NUMB! THAT PUNCH WAS *WAY* STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE! HOW STRONG *ARE* YOU GUYS?!

Amethyst rushes down the steps with her whip ready, only to be stopped by Pearl. "Amethyst, wait! It's alright, he's not going to hurt us." Amethyst just looks at pearl even more confused.

"Did you say 'He'? That thing's a guy?! What is he? Only one person could tank a hit like that, and Jasper's not here."

"I'm not too sure what he is myself, Amethyst, But he isn't here to hurt anyone."

"Try telling Garnet that! If he hadn't blocked it, that hit would have torn that dude in half! What's she gonna do to him now?!"

His hands now useless to defend himself, Asriel can only look upon the approaching Garnet with fear. Pearl and Amethyst both look on with bated breath, Unsure of Garnet's intentions. But as Garnet walks right up to Asriel, her gauntlets disappear much to everyone's relief. Asriel sees his reflection in garnet's glasses as garnet, standing nearly a-foot taller than Asriel, looks down at him with a towering presence.

"Heh. So, uh... is this the part where you tell me to go away and pretend I never saw you guys?" Asriel nervelessly asks. Garnet simply replies by taking off her glasses and looking directly at Asriel with an unsettling look of calmness and curiosity across her face. Asriel is immediately caught off guard by Garnet's three eyes, which stare deeply into his.

"Triclops! WOW, that's... wow. I did not see that coming. Nowaitthatwasn'tmenttobeapunI- um.. Y-you must be Garnet. I'm Asriel. Nice to meet you? Heh heh?" Asriel nervously laughs. Garnet, however, continues to glare at Asriel for what, to him at least, feels like hours. eventually, Garnet puts her glasses back on and turns to Pearl.

"Pearl. You've got some explaining to do."


End file.
